HOBAS jacking pipe systems are unique and have a variety of installation benefits that give them advantages over other jacking pipe materials. Smaller outside diametres means that major savings can be realised from reduced tunnel and bore sizes from the corresponding reduction in excavation for the same nominal bore. The light weight of HOBAS pipe translates into longer drives for auger style installations and a smaller project footprint in general.
Although HOBAS has been used by water authorities throughout Australia for decades, in recent years it has really established itself as a market leader in jacking pipe.
“It’s easy to understand why it is a favourite jacking pipe for contractors,” says Rob Carr Construction Manager Brett Everard. “With their high factors of safety and tight tolerances, a contractor can be less concerned about the risk of cracking or breaking. HOBAS jacking pipe has always performed exactly as we expected and has never been the cause of costly delays.”
Installation under new precincts
In 2012, the creation of a new, more advanced and higher capacity sewer main to support the growing needs of Melbourne’s Docklands required the use of technologically advanced products that would stand the test of time.
The tricky ground conditions due to the presence of Melbourne’s infamous Coode Island Silt required a specialised team in order to complete the project, with HOBAS and Thiess at the helm.
Thiess Services Project Manager Dean Larrassey said he had worked with HOBAS pipe numerous times overseas so knew the product could stand up to the challenges of the project.
“I had worked on various projects in Europe where HOBAS was very widely known, and HOBAS regularly exceeded the project requirements.”
“Because of the high volume of traffic experienced along Lorimer Street, we knew jacking was the way to go, so we used a micro-boring machine to jack approximately 500 m of HOBAS pipe through the notoriously difficult Coode Island Silt.
“The HOBAS pipe was easy to install in that it performed exceptionally well in the less than favourable ground conditions and we were able to complete the project right on schedule.
Installation under railways
A ground breaking project for HOBAS pipe in Western Australia’s Pilbara was completed at the end of 2012.
The Pilbara Region is located in the North Western corner of Australia in what is known as one of the hottest and at times wettest parts of the world.
Today, the Pilbara region is home to the rail and port infrastructure needed to transport ore from this remote region. With most of the ore being exported, large ports have been built to accommodate the ore transport; one of the largest of these ports is Rio Tinto’s Cape Lambert. Trains travel in from Rio Tinto mines throughout the region, carrying around 80 million tonnes of iron ore per year into Cape Lambert for processing and ship loading.
At present, the port is undergoing an infrastructure upgrade that will see the transportation capacity of Cape Lambert port more than double by mid-2015.
An integral part of the of the overall upgrade is the “÷Sam’s Creek’ stormwater drainage lines, which run under the existing rail lines and allow the release of stormwater during the wet season. Any upgrades to these drainage lines needs to allow the existing rail lines above to stay in constant operation to maintain continual loading of ships.
The design of the new drainage culvert specified two rows of 2,100 mm internal diameter pipes at approximately 100 m long, each with an additional row of 2,100 mm internal diameter pipe for services.
Both the client and contractor were surprised to learn that the lead-time for HOBAS was substantially shorter than that of locally supplied concrete pipe. Given the tight timeframe for the project, the decision to use HOBAS was easy.
Tackling challenging projects
Executive Director Andy Holman of Global Pipe, Australia’s distributor of HOBAS pipe, said HOBAS CC-GRP jacking pipe is regularly selected to complete notoriously difficult projects due to its well established behaviour in pipe jacking and its very long asset life.
“HOBAS has been used internationally for over 30 years and is now the product of choice among the largest engineering companies in Europe and North America.
“The HOBAS centrifugal cast pipe uses patented technology to provide the most efficient, long-lasting and highest quality CC-GRP pipe currently in the world.
“The design has a 100+ year life span which means it can typically outperform old-world products such as concrete or steel in corrosive environments such as sewer systems,” Mr Holman said.